What is wrong with Ukrainian government?

The Ukrainian government performs its duties without any addition as acting, President Viktor Yushchenko said on Thursday at a government meeting.

“The first thing I should like to tell Ukrainian society, the Ukrainian parliament and political forces of the nation, is that the country has a full-fledged government both in the center and in localities,” Yushchenko emphasized.

“It performs completely its duties without any additions to posts of cabinet members or leaders of territories,” the president added. “This government will amply form and pursue executive policy in the first quarter of the current year, up to the formation of a new cabinet after the general elections in March 2006,” the head of state noted.

“I signed today an address to the national parliament with a demand to ditch the decision – an unconstitutional decision – on sacking the present government,” he stated.

The president also refuted a statement by the opposition on an unprofitable nature for Kiev of the agreement of January 4 on gas between the Naftogaz Ukrainy, Gazprom and RosUkrEnergo companies. “I’m ready to be responsible for each item of this agreement which was signed,” the Ukrainian president went on.

“I was a prime minister of this country, and I know what was the understanding on tariffs and prices for gas before 2000, and I know how gas was stolen by billions of cubic meters by people who ask to be advisers on how to avoid the gas problem,” Itar-Tass quoted Yushchenko as saying.

V.Y.